In the Pursuit of Happiness: The Role of Personality

Abstract

Happiness and personality are closely related, like hand in glove. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits and happiness among undergraduates in Malaysia. Using a convenient sampling method, 130 students of five academic programs from Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia completed the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Correlation analysis, multiple regression and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. Results showed that happiness scores were positively and significantly correlated (P < 0.001) with those on Openness to experience (r = 0.243), Conscientiousness (r = 0.609), Extraversion (r = 0.446), Agreeableness (r = 0.391), but were negatively correlated with Neuroticism (r = - 0.166, P > 0.05). Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism accounted for 48.2% of variance in predicting happiness. ANOVA results also showed that there was a statistically significant difference in happiness among respondents with different levels of Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Openness to experience. University Student Affair and Academic Affair Departments of the university should organise initiatives that could identify students’ personality traits as this has a bearing on their happiness and hence their performance. Relevant activities need to be organised to enhance students’ well-being. This is among the first papers that investigates the relationship between happiness and personality among non-medical undergraduates in Malaysia using OHQ and NEO-FFI.